Students, teachers and staff at Eugene Field Elementary thought they were having an assembly to meet the new superintendent.

Instead, they were told that when it comes to the district's accountability checklist, they were the most improved out of all the elementary schools.

Every teacher and staff member who worked there last year got a check from the Foundation for Tulsa Schools.

"It absolutely means a lot," said fourth-grade teacher Rebekah Warnke. "Most of us have our own families at home, and some of us put in over and beyond hours here at work, and so it means a lot that we're being recognized for the extra effort that we put."

Cherokee, MacArthur and Chouteau elementary schools also received awards from the foundation for being runners-up.